Fence post anchor means



April 1955 J. LIONBERGER 2,705,548

FENCE POST ANCHOR MEANS Filed July 27, 1951 United States Patent FENCEPOST ANCHOR MEANS Jack Liouberger, Colusa, Ill.

Application July 27, 1951, Serial No. 238,957

Claims. (Cl. 189-31) My invention relates to a fence post anchor meansdesigned primarily to be used with metal fence posts.

Metal fence posts offer many advantages over other types of posts, and,consequently, they are used on a large scale.

Despite many advantages, metal fence posts exhibit a somewhat greatertendency to work themselves out of the ground in certain instances thando other types of posts. One instance where this tendencv is pronouncedis in the case of fence posts used in hilly terrain. The posts locatedin valleys or depressions between adjacent higher ground levels aresubjected to forces tending to pull them out of the ground. Theseforces, for the most part, are applied to the posts by the tightlystretched wire carried between the posts. The tension of the wire, ofcourse, produces a force tending to make the wire horizontal, and anyfence post fastened to the Wire below a line between points of appliedtension is subjected to a vertically upward force that tends to pull thepost out of the ground.

Occasionally under ordinary conditions this force results in pulling apost out of the ground. The difiiculty is aggravated in wet weather thenthe ground softens, and in freezing and thawing weather when there is ashifting of the soil around the post. Such shifting often applies anupwardly pushing force to the post. In these conditions a greater numberof posts are uprooted, and the problem is substantial. In fact, thereare sections of the country where metal fence posts are not used at all,generally speaking, because of their shortcoming in this respect.

One object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a fence post anchormeans that may be used with metal fence posts and which will make themetal fence post as resistant to coming out of the ground as other typesof fence post, such as a wooden post.

Another object is to provide an anchoring means that can be readilyapplied to practically all existing types of metal fence posts.

Still another object is to provide an anchoring means that is extremelyinexpensive to manufacture, and is extremely simple to install onexisting metal posts.

Another object is to provide an anchor means that requires but a minoralteration in existing metal fence posts so as to make such postscapable of receiving the anchor means of the invention.

Another and equally important object of the invention is to provide ananchor means which when applied to the post does not unduly increase theresistance of the post against being driven into the ground. It is to beappreciated that metal fence posts normally are driven into the groundby hand, and, consequently, it is important that the r es1i1stance ofthe post should not be increased substantla y.

Another and similarly important object is to provide an anchor meansthat will operate in a foolproof manner despite variations in soiltexture, and despite variations occasioned by moist or wet ground andconditions of freezing and thawing.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent as thedescription proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawingwhich illustrates one structural form of the invention. It is to beunderstood, of course, that in commercial applications of the inventionvarious details might well vary somewhat from those here shown anddescribed.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a representative metal 2,705,548Patented Apr. 5, 1955 'ice fence post provided with the anchoring meansof my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view, partly in section, of the below groundpart of a fence post equipped with my invention;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of one of the plates of my invention, and

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the below ground end of a fence postshowing a modified manner of applying my invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a conventional metal fencepost 5 together with associated conventional anchor plate 6. Post 5, asillustrated, is T-shaped in cross section, although my invention can beequally well used with fence posts of other well known cross sections,such as U or L-shapes. All such metal fence posts are normally providedwith the so-called anchor plate 6, which is suitably affixed to the postin a secure and non-detachable manner.

The anchor plate 6, when the fence post is installed, extends in thedirection of the fence wire. The primary purpose and function of theplate is to resist a tipping force that might be applied at or near thetop of the post by the livestock confined within the fence. It is notparticularly helpful in preventing the post from being pulled out of theground in the instances mentioned above.

My invention contemplates a pair of generally triangular plates 8 thatare adapted to be mounted in more or less symmetrical fashion on astandard metal fence post. Plates 8 are formed of metal, preferably hardmetal such as railroad steel.

Plates 8 may be mounted on a standard metal fence post in a variety ofparticular places. They may be mounted on anchor plate 6, as illustratedin Figs. 1 and 2, or they may be mounted on an auxiliary transverseplate 10 (Fig. 4) that in turn may be riveted or otherwise secured nearthe lower end of the fence post. Further, they may be mounted on thelower portion of the post itself, the stem of a T-section or the web orlegs of U and L-sections being suitable to receive the plates.

Since the particular place on the fence post to which my plates aremounted is more or less optional, a particular place itself is notactually an element of the invention. But, since the plates 8 must bemounted somewhere to enjoy their advantages, it is consideredappropriate in some of the claims to mention a part of the fence post soas to define the relation therewith. Accordingly, such part of the fencepost will hereinafter sometimes be referred to as a plate portion of thefence post. It is to be understood that this term refers to any platepor tion on the fence post able to receive my triangular plates in amore or less symmetrical manner, such as the anchor plate 6, transverseplate 10, or the lower part of the stem, web, or leg of the post itself.

A plate portion of the post, such as anchor plate 6, transverse plate10,or other part of the post, is provided with spaced apertures 11. Theapertures 11 may be horizontally spaced as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, orthey may be vertically spaced in case some plate portion (stem, web, orleg) of the post itself is used. The apertures 11 may be rectangular inshape as shown, although the precise shape is not particularlyimportant.

Apertures 11 may be stamped in the desired plate portion during astamping operation that cuts or forms the material, so no separateoperation is really required to form the apertures.

The triangular plate 8 of my invention, best shown in Fig. 3, has areduced lug 12 that extends from the base or narrow side of thetriangle. Lug 12 has a U- bend 13 (Fig. 2) in the portion thereof nearthe plate proper, and a reverse curve 14 (Fig. 2) in the end portionthereof.

An aperture 11, U-bend 13 and reverse curve 14 are related in sizewhereby at least a moderate amount of force is-required to cause the lugto enter the aperture. This force, applied by a hammer, for example,produces a slight yield in the metal so that the lug snaps through theaperture. The metal then restores itself so that the lug and associatedplate 8 are retained securely in place on the plate portion of the post.

The apertured plate portion of the post and the U- bent portion of theleg cooperate to form a relatively loose hinge whereby the plate 8(sometimes called a movable plate) may swing from a position parallelwith the fence post plate portion outwardly through about 30 degrees.The outer portion of lug 12 bears against the plate portion of the postto limit the angular movement allowed by the hinge. As will be seen,this ability of the plate to swing outwardly through a limited angle isthe feature which enables my arrangement to function as an anchor tohold the fence post securely in the ground against an upward force.

The end portion of lug 12 may desirably be cut away centrally as shownat 15 (Figs. 3 and 4). This feature prevents the packing of dirt in theregion between the lug end and the plate portion of the post, andeliminates the possibility of failure of the hinge to operate clue topacking of dirt in this space.

The pointed end 16 of plate 8, comprising roughly the end one-third ofthe plate, is bent out of the plane of the plate in the directionopposite to that of the U-bend in the lug. When plate 8 is mounted onthe fence post, the direction of the bend of the pointed end is awayfrom the plate portion of the post, as clearly shown in the drawing,particularly Fig. 2.

A further detail of the invention, of particular importance in the caseof certain kinds of soil, is the provision of a boss 18 in plate 8. Boss18 extends from the side of the plate that faces lug 12 and itfunctions, as shown in the dotted line plate on the right hand side ofFig. 2, to space plate 8 from the plate portion of the post. Thisspacing is of particular importance in gummy soil, or the like, so as toinsure proper operation of the hinge. With this spacing, lug 12 isprevented from binding in aperture 11, and there is provided a welldefined path for soil to enter the region between plate 8 and the plateportion of the post.

Inclined edge 17 (Fig. 3) of plate 8 may be bevelled on the side facinglug 12. This bevel helps the plate to bite into the soil when an upwardforce is applied to the post.

A plate 8 is mounted in each of the two apertures of the fence post asshown in Figs. 1 2 and 4. One plate 8 is mounted to lie on one side ofthe plate portion of the post, while the other plate 8 is mounted to lieon the other side of the plate portion. This more or less symmetricalarrangement of the plates 8 insures an anchoring action on opposite postsides, and eliminates any tendency of an upward force to tilt the postat an angle, as would be the case of anchoring on one side only.

The single plate 8 on the left side of Fig. 2 and the plate 8 shown infull lines on the right side of Fig. 2 illustrate the positions assumedby the plates following the application of an upward force tending topull the post out of the ground. When the post is driven into theground, and immediately thereafter, the plates 8 lie in a positionadjacent the plate portion of the post, as illustrated by the singledotted line plate on the right hand side of Fig. 2. It will be notedthat the pointed end 16 of the plate and the end of lug 12 extendoutwardly only a short distance from opposite sides of the plate portionof the post. The resistance to driving caused by these minor extensionsis not excessive, and the post can be driven readily by hand.

In response to any force tending to pull or push the post upwardly andout of the ground, the pointed ends 16 and inclined edges of the plates8 bite into the soil and, as additional force is applied, the plates 8swing outwardly on their hinges. As the plates approach or reach theoutward positions illustrated in Fig. 2, the resistance of the postagainst being pulled or pushed out of the ground is so great thatnothing short of an abnormal force can succeed in uprooting the post.

It should be appreciated that the shape and dimensions of plate 8 arerather critical to the successful operation of the invention. Thegenerally triangular shape of the plate is accurately described and setforth in the claims. Since it is impractical to set forth finitedimensions, it is to be understood that the dimensioning of the plate 8,relative to the fence post, illustrated in the drawing should be used inorder to insure most successful operation of the invention.

From the above description it is thought that the construction andadvantages of my invention will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art. Various changes in detail may be made without departing fromthe spirit or losing the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A fence post anchor means comprising a plate portion of a metal fencepost, said plate portion having a pair of spaced apertures therein, apair of generally triangular movable plates mounted one on each side ofsaid plate portion, each movable plate having a reduced lug extendingfrom the base side of the triangle, said lug having a U-bend in theportion near the plate and a reverse curve in the end portion thereof,the end portion of said lug being centrally cut away, the aperture,U-bend and reverse curve being related in size whereby at least moderateforce is required to cause said lug to enter said aperture, said U-bendand said aperture forming a hinge whereby said movable plate may swingfrom said fence post plate portion outwardly through about 30, the endof said movable plate opposite said lug being bent away from said plateportion, and a boss on said movable plate for spacing the latter fromsaid plate portion.

2. A fence post anchor means comprising a plate portion of a metal fencepost, said plate portion having a pair of spaced apertures therein, apair of generally triangular movable plates mounted one on each side ofsaid plate portion, each movable plate having a reduced lug extendingfrom the base side of the triangle, said lug having a U-bend in theportion near the plate and a reverse curve in the end portion thereof,the aperture, U-bend and reverse curve being related in size whereby atleast moderate force is required to cause said lug to enter saidaperture, said U-bend and said aperture forming a hinge whereby saidmovable plate may swing from said fence post plate portion outwardlythrough about 30, the end of said movable plate oposite said lug beingbent away from said plate portion.

3. A generally triangular plate having a reduced lug extending from thebase side of the triangle, said lug having a U-bend in the portion nearthe plate and a reverse curve in the end portion thereof, the endportion of said lug being centrally cut away, the end of said plateopposite said lug being bent out of the plane of the plate in thedirection oposite to that of the U-bend, the surface of said platehaving a boss thereon spaced from said lug and extending from the sideof the plate facing said lug.

4. A generally triangular plate having a reduced lug extending from thebase side of the triangle, said lug having a U-bend in the portion nearthe plate and a reverse curve in the end portion thereof, the end ofsaid plate opposite said lug being bent out of the plane of the Plate inthe direction opposite to that of the U-bend, the surface of said platehaving a boss thereon spaced from said lug and extending from the sideof the plate facing said lug.

5. A generally triangular plate having a reduced lug extending from thebase sideof the triangle, said lug having a U-bend in the portion nearthe plate and a reverse curve in the end portion thereof, the end ofsaid plate opposite said lug being bent out of the plane of the plate inthe direction opposite to that of the U-bend.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,261,076 Wallenkamp Apr. 2, 1918 1,703,461 Thomas Feb. 26, 19291,717,557 Halgrimson June 18, 1929 1,764,975 Pfenning June 17, 19301,955,389 Samson Apr. 17, 1934 2,334,989 Brickman Nov. 23, 1943

